The first of the cars, a power car, has arrived by truck at the Midland Railway in Baldwin City, KS, its new home.
Now known as the "Kansas Belle" dinner train, it is hoped to be in operation before years end.
A total of seven cars will be moved over the next few weeks.

All will be trucked due to costs involved in an all rail shipment.

Ira Schreiber

You know it's sad when it cheaper to take a working railcar off the rails, onto a truck, drive it whereever and then put it back on rails than it is to attach it to a train. Would that be because there aren't up to interchange standards?

We don't know the particulars of this specific instance, but the variables in such matters are such that, in the United Kingdom, they have on occasion shipped fully-operable main-line steam locomotives as big as a 4-6-2 by road trailer from one heritage railway to another. It only takes one bit of bureaucracy or paperwork to turn what should be a simple run into a complicated one. Think of, for example, taking a "farm truck" or "hot rod" with expired plates and no muffler from one state to another. Some people would just get in the truck and drive in the middle of the night, but if the police catch you, the fines will be a lot more than a towing bill.

Google Maps show Fremont to Baldwin City to be 263 miles of mostly Interstate running by road. My older rail atlases show some fairly direct rail routes, but nothing I would describe as convenient.

This article says the relocation will cost $75,000. The photo shows at least one heavyweight car with what appears to be friction-bearing trucks, and looking online suggests there are others on the train: http://www.omaha.com/article/20120809/N ... 09958/1685

How much is the conversion to roller bearings again? Times several cars? COT&S? Fixing anything a car inspector might find wrong, like flanges to be reprofiled? UMLER registration and AEI tags?

Having personally escorted/expedited several more modern passenger cars than these across multiple states, I'm not sure I'd want to have cars that I couldn't leave unattended safely shipped by rail without someone "hovering" over them constantly. And as short a trip as that may look, for all we know it could take UP or whoever a thousand miles and a week to do that trip on the cheap, or 400 miles and three weeks to do it "direct," provided all the track I see in the atlases is still there. (You think I'm kidding? I once explored a car shipment from central Maryland to Montreal. CSX offered a good price, but wanted to run it by way of Chicago. Before we gave up, we had at least talked them into changing direction in Willard, Ohio.)

As a former member of the Fremont organization, I can shed some light on this. First, the cost of bringing the cars into compliance to move them over rail was prohibitive, and second, the FEVR line has no active rail connection. The last half mile to the connection with the UP switch lead has been red-boarded for about 10 years now, and it would take around 1000 ties, gauging and surfacing to even get an empty car down the line. I personally know of a several hundred foot section that has nary a single contiguous tie under it.

The red-boarded connection was the nail in the coffin for the shortline that had the freight contract on the FEVR line. This section is owned by UP and they have no interest in fixing it. And of course, the museum owning the line had to sell out to another company after the bank labeled the line a "toxic debt" and called the loan last year. Future rail trails of America.

As a co-owner of the Kansas Belle (former Fremont Dinner Train) let me clear up a few points.
All cars were current on air dates with one exception.
The straw that broke the camel's back was that the UP wanted $100k-$110k to repair the conecting track.
The handling of the cars by the railroads also was a factor.
All the cars are roller bearing and are considered as "lightweights".
It was a financial decision to truck the cars, actually to Ottawa Junction, KS where they are being unloaded.

After reading through "The Fever Flash" from 2002 through September of 2012,particularly from 2009 on, I can see why the move of the Dinner Train was made and I must say; it is sad that things went and continue to go the way they did/do for the FEVR/NRM.

There were some high hopes in 2009 with the sale of the line to a private owner, but somewhere, someone, somehow was looking through rose colored glasses with that decision, albeit prompted by deadlines.

There are MANY clearly outlined examples in the history of tourist operations, of why a decision like that should never have been made.

How many times is the owner going to say "the checks in the mail" with regard to needed repairs to the ROW?

My understanding is that the Fremont group does not own their railroad. Problem.


Often the interstate route is NOT the preferred high/wide route. For instance there is a constant parade of windmill blades and pylons down US-12 in south Michigan, rather than I-94 or I-80. One would expect this due to the numerous underpasses on any freeway.

In some states (e.g. Michigan) these moves are permitted in daylight only... and every cop knows that... so doing a midnight move would be suicide.

As far as the bureaucracy, a trucker with a lot of experience will know exactly what to do, and it will seem/be fairly effortless for him. Jeepers creepers, did I just imply "hire a professional"? There must be a security problem on this site, as clearly my account has been hacked LOL!

You are correct. From what I have read of their newsletters, they sold the line and their locomotives to a private individual in late 2009.

As of today, Saturday four cars have been delivered to Baldwin City. Two more are to arrive on Monday, the 19th and the final move after the Thanksgiving holiday.

There is a great deal of excitement and anticipation here in Baldwin City.

Motive power here will be ex-MKT 142, an RS-3-m EMD repowered Alco. On site is 8255 an ex-NYC Alco RS-3 with original power and running.

Ira Schreiber